Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, July 18, 1990 TAG: 9007180194
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DANIEL HOWES HIGHER EDUCATION WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
F. Duke Perry, a Salem native who holds two degrees from Tech, will become president and chief executive officer of the foundation Sept. 1. He will oversee all private fund raising at the 28,000-student school - except for the money raised to support intercollegiate athletics.
"I am leaving Virginia Tech with mixed emotions and many fond memories," he said Tuesday. "I hadn't been considering leaving . . . at all. This is one of those rare opportunities to run my own program."
Saying Florida State "came courting," Perry described the university as looking for someone to guide its fund raising to a plateau similar to that already occupied by Tech, which in 11 years jumped from 300th in endowment assets to 26th among state-supported schools.
Perry, 51, played a key role in the planning and management of Tech's two universitywide fund-raising campaigns in the past decade: the "Campaign for Excellence," which raised $118 million from 1984-86, and the "Campaign for the Veterinary College," which raised $8 million from 1980-82.
He also helped kick off the university's newest drive last January, a $17 million campaign to benefit Tech's athletic programs. Some $7 million has already been pledged.
Charles Forbes, Tech's vice president for development and university relations, called Perry a "close associate and a good friend" who has been "a great asset. He knows everybody around here."
Perry began his 23-year career at Tech as assistant director of placement in 1967. Two years later, he became associate director of the alumni association and in 1972 was named director of annual giving.
In 1979, he became director of university development, and six years later was promoted to associate vice president for development.
by CNB